


Not Quite Five Nights

by Shamaru



Category: The LEGO Movie (2014)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-14
Updated: 2020-01-04
Packaged: 2020-06-28 10:44:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 15,163
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19810660
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shamaru/pseuds/Shamaru
Summary: For a first time job the position of night security guard at the Bricksburg Museum sounded easy enough. Just keep people out, keep the artifacts in their proper places, and occasionally change out dead light bulbs.Oh, and keep the robots happy.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This will be my first published fic for The LEGO Movie. I've been a big fan since the first movie and after the second I got hit hard again. And then obsession kicked in, but that's a different story.
> 
> So, uh, here's a totally original story idea! Hope y'all like it!
> 
> Italics are for the one in the back of their mind speaking.
> 
> Good Cop - Gairbith "Gair"  
> Bad Cop - Bradley

“First day on the job! Isn’t this exciting?”

_“What’s there t’be excited about? It’s a night guard position.”_

Regardless of his brother’s sour tone, Gair continued toward the tall building with a smile on his face. He could already see someone waiting at the door for him and quickly scurried up the few steps to meet the man.

“Afternoon!” he chirped in greeting.

The older man simply nodded, a slight half smile on his lips. “Ready to get started?”

“You betcha!”

_“Tone it down a bit. Y’sound too eager.”_

With a sigh and a shake of his head, the man turned to the door behind them and unlocked it with a rather rusted looking key. Gair followed him in, shutting the door quietly, and let his gaze wander. The museum was old, signs of wear and tear everywhere he looked, but it had a sense of being well looked after.

“Alright,” the man beside him started, “it’s not a super hard job, but you’ll have to be diligent. We had a break in a few months ago and we don’t want that to happen again.”

“Of course not, sir!” Gair agreed. 

“So your job here is obviously making sure that people stay out and that everything stays in its proper place. You’ll also need to change any lights that go out. They tend to do that at night for whatever reason.”

“Change dead bulbs and keep things in check. Got it!”

“Oh, and keep the robots happy.”

That brought Gair to a pause.

_“What did he say now?”_

“Um, robots, sir?” 

The man raised one side of his unibrow and turned to look down at his trainee. “Hm? Oh, the robot thing.” Suddenly he was all confident smiles and waved a hand dismissively. “It’s nothing really. Kind of a joke. C’mon, I’ll show you.”

He began to lead Gair through the halls, stopping now and then to point out something newly added and explain what it was. Eventually the two stepped into one of the largest rooms they’d passed and Gair marveled at it. Dark blue paint covered the walls and flecks of multiple colors shone through like twinkling stars. Brightly painted rocket ships flew from wall to wall and a detailed moon had been painted over the ceiling above them. All around were objects from space, parts of old rockets, space suits behind glass, and even a huge meteorite displayed in the center of the room.

“Nice isn’t it?” the man asked after noticing Gair’s lit up expression. “One of our most popular rooms too. Totally worth the expense since it generates so much popularity with the kids.” He puffed up with a look of pride for a moment then nodded his head toward the corner wall closest to them.

“Alright, now.” He started again, catching Gair’s attention. “See the suits in the four corners? The oddly colored ones?”

Gair nodded, having noticed them in his initial sweep of the room. Unlike the suits behind the glass cases which were all colored gray, the four in the corners weren’t trapped behind glass nor were they gray in color. One was colored a spotless white, one pink, one yellow, and one blue. Each of the four had an identical marking on the chest, a darker yellow planet with a small red rocket ship flying around it, and dull yellow glass made up the visor on each helmet.

“I’m guessing those are the robots you mentioned, sir?” Gair offered. He was pleased when the man smiled and nodded.

“Very good. You catch on quick.”

_“Sounds like sarcasm t’me.”_

“These ‘bots are the newest addition to our collection and we’re still working out a few kinks. So don’t be alarmed if one of them comes on at night and walks around for a while. They’re designed to interact with the visitors, answer questions, spout off space facts, yadda yadda. Just give them a question or two and they’ll go back to sleep mode soon after.”

“Sounds interesting.” Gair eyed the robots and almost hoped that they’d turn on just so he could see them in action.

_“Hey, ask him about that blue one. It looks broken.”_

Following his brother’s command, Gair glanced toward the blue spaceman and stared at it for a moment. From where it stood at the farthest corner he could just make out that the helmet’s bottom edge didn’t quite sit right and that the chest marking looked a bit faded. It looked oddly old compared to the other three.

“What’s wrong with the blue one? It looks a little broken.” he remarked just before his guide turned to leave.

The man stopped, frowned, and glanced at the robot. “Oh.” He turned to glance at Gair and gave another dismissive wave of his hand. “That one was the first to be added and it’s the kids’ favorite. Someone climbed on it and knocked it over, I think. It still works though. Just don’t touch it. Sometimes it sparks and we haven’t been able to get it fixed yet.”

Gair nodded, eyes staying on the broken ‘bot for a minute longer.

“Anyway, that’s really all you need to know!” The man suddenly said in a startlingly loud voice. “So just keep people out, keep the stuff inside where it’s supposed to be, and make sure these robots are back to their posts by the time you leave. Here’s your key and good night!”

A rusted key was presented to him, taken after a moment, and he followed his guide back to the front room. Just before the man left he turned toward Gair once more, half out the door with a frown on his face.

“The last guy we hired left after spouting off that this place was haunted. It’s an old building. There’re weird noises and the lights flicker. That gonna be a problem with you too?”

The man looked so stern and Gair suddenly didn’t want to disappoint him.

“Of course not, sir!” he responded quickly. “I don’t believe in haunted houses or ghosts or anything like that!”

_“Yes you do.”_

The man’s frown deepened as he stared at the other for a good long moment. Then in an instant he was smiling again. “Good, great! Just keep that kind of attitude and we’ll get along just fine. See you in the morning!” And with that he stepped out fully, letting the door slam behind him and disappearing into the night. 

Gair locked the door and pocketed the rusted key, patting it and nodding to himself.

“Alright. Time to start our new job!”

_“Oh, I can’t wait.”_


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so, this chapter is wholly dedicated to CosmicWoods on Tumblr because they hunted me down there and messaged me out of the blue with a love for this fic and it gave me such a STRONG WANT to continue that I whipped this up faster than anything I've written before. It's somewhat short, but I'm getting back into the fic now and hopefully I'll have more posted quickly!
> 
> I also went back and changed GC's name because I can't seem to settle on what I actually want to call him! For now I've gone with Gairbith, or Gair for short. It means "rough peace" which I find fitting.

Halfway through the evening they began to realize just how dull their new job would be.

Gair had been so full of excitement that he’d at least been able to entertain himself simply by wandering through the exhibits. Once he’d seen everything though and backtracked to the front lobby, his energy levels had dropped. It wasn’t quite as much fun without being able to chat with other people.

_“I told you it wasn’t enough t’get excited about.”_

“I know, I know.” Gair sighed. 

He continued to wander the halls and peer into the exhibits with much less energy than before. Soon he found his feet guiding him back to the space themed room. He stopped in front of the red suited astronaut and stared at the dull yellow glass of its visor silently. “Do you think there’s a way to manually switch these on?”

_“Why would y’want to?”_

“Just... for something to do?”

_“I wouldn’t advise it. We could get in trouble.”_

“But I’m bored, Brad!” Gair tossed his head back in a dramatic fashion and threw his arms into the air. “And that guy said the ‘bots wake up at night anyway so what’s the harm in turning them on ourselves? We never come here during the day, so maybe now at night-”

_“Gairbith Copperson, you stop that line of thinking right now.”_

He huffed at the use of his full name. His brother only pulled that card when he was absolutely sure of a bad idea in progress. It was a rule between them that when one used the other’s full name they were to cease their plans without question. It had saved them both in the past so Gair didn’t put up much of a fuss. Emphasis on much.

“Fine, fine.” he grumped. “I won’t try to turn them on. I just really wanted to see the astronauts wake up.”

As if on cue the air suddenly filled with a soft humming and a whir that sounded suspiciously like electronics booting up. Then a movement in the corner of his eye caught Gair’s attention and he turned in time to see the yellow astronaut’s head swivel around to face him. It was a quick movement and Gair jumped a bit.

The dull visor suddenly flashed, bright yellow lights flaring behind the glass, and a pixelated smiling face projected onto it. Slowly one of its arms raised to wave a hand at the guard. A moment afterword it began to move, clunky slow steps nearing the stunned man until it stood only a few feet from him.

_“By The Man Upstairs...”_ his brother’s voice was a mere whisper in the back of his mind. _“They really do move on their own...”_

“Well hello there, space explorer!” the robot chirped in a computerized voice. “Glad to meet you! My name is Kenny! Would you like to ask a question?”

For a long while Gair simply stared at the robotic astronaut with wide eyes. The ‘bot didn’t move from its spot nor did it make any more noise. It simply stared back at him with unblinking pixelated eyes. 

Then the guard broke out in a huge smile.

“Oh my goodness!” he exclaimed. “This is so exciting! You really do come to life!”

The face on the screen flickered for a split second before settling back onto a smile.

“I heard someone wanted to see the astronauts!”

“Oh, I did sort of say that didn’t I?” Gair chuckled. “Oh, but what do I do now? I’ve killed some time, but I’ve got at least another hour before you need to go back to your spot. But will it hurt to keep you from shutting down?” 

_“So now you worry about that.”_

“Did you have a question, space explorer?” the robot prompted again.

Gair wasn’t sure what to ask. He had questions, sure, but he was also sure the robots would only be programmed with basic knowledge and space facts like the man from before had told him. Still, he felt like testing it. “Will you be the only one answering questions tonight, Kenny?”

He swore the face flickered again, but it was back to a smile so quickly that maybe it was just his eyes playing tricks on him.

“Only one of us is needed to answer your questions, space explorer!” Kenny chirped. Somehow it sounded... different this time.

_“Gair.”_ His brother’s voice held something like warning. _“This doesn’t feel right. Maybe y’shouldn’t ask it anything else.”_

“Maybe you’re right...” Gair whispered, tilting his head away from the robot to answer his brother. Then, turning again, he smiled up at the yellow astronaut. “I think that’s all I need to ask, thank you.”

For a moment the robot was silent. The simulated eyes on its visor blinked which honestly surprised Gair. He hadn’t expected that level of detail in them. 

“Would you like to ask a question, space explorer?”

Gair frowned. “Um, no. That was all I needed to ask. Thank you, Kenny.”

“You’re questioning was over, space explorer.” The robot did a slight bow that may have actually been an attempt at a nod without a movable neck joint. “I was asking the second space explorer.”

The guard went absolutely still. His breath caught in his throat and he even quickly glanced behind himself after a moment to check that he was still alone.

“E.... Excuse me?” he questioned. Suddenly he was feeling nervous about the robot in front of him. And he felt his blood run cold when next that chipper voice spoke.

“Your friend with you. In the back of your head. Do you have a question, mind wandering space explorer?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They know if you are sleeping
> 
> They know if you're awake
> 
> They know if you're sharing a body with your brother
> 
> So beware for goodness sake


	3. Chapter 3

Bradley was out in an instant and settling into a fighting stance. 

“Do you have a question, mind explorer?” Kenny’s chip tone voice asked again. 

_”You can’t punch a robot, Brad! You’ll break your hand!”_

“Y’know I punch metal chairs for stress relief. It’s th’same thing.”

_”Chairs can’t fight back though.”_

That was a good point. However, it didn’t seem needed as the robot wasn’t showing any signs of coming after them. It just stood staring at him with that digital smile. Very slowly Bradley relaxed his posture.

“This is weird.” he mumbled. “Do y’think it’s programmed to know how many people are in th’room?” 

Before Gair could answer, the robot in question spoke. “I must know how many fellow explorers are nearby to better assist them!” Then its face most definitely glitched, turning red for a split second. “Bad things happen if we lose track of each other.”

“That’s not ominous at all is it now?” Bradley grumbled under his breath. 

_”Well... At least it’s not attacking us?”_

On cue the ‘bot took a step closer and raised a hand, reaching for them and swiping at air when Bradley rolled out of the way. The guard growled when he had to jump back again as the yellow astronaut took a second swing at him.

“Y’just had t’say something, didn’t you?” he growled at his brother. Then he pinned the robot with a stare and bared his teeth, going back into a fighting stance. “Come at me again and I’ll knock your head clean off!”

The robot stared at them for a long silent moment. Then, ignoring the threat, it extended both arms and charged at them. It took them by surprise seeing the sudden burst of speed that it hadn’t shown before and Bradley just barely managed to duck out of the way. He flung himself forward and swung out a fist, making a solid connection with the yellow glass visor and biting back the pained bark that wanted to escape him as his bones protested the action. Quickly he pulled his hand back to himself and clutched it to his chest.

There was a moment of absolute stillness after the hit.

None of the three made a sound and none of them moved.

Then, quick as a whip, Kenny’s head swiveled on its shoulders to face Bradley. The yellow visor flickered once, twice, then settled on a bright glaring red. The pixelated smile fizzled out and an angry frown replaced the expression. The robot’s body jerked to stand upright and its arms outstretched toward them with intent to grab. 

“No touching the astronauts.” The voice wasn’t so chipper now, dripping digital venom in its words.

_“Not doing this! Nope!”_

A sudden hard mental shove had Bradley stumbling back into their mind and he shouted as Gair took over once more just to have to duck a swinging robot’s fist. The guard almost lost his footing, but caught himself and immediately turned tail to run.

“Nope, nope, nope!” Gair chanted as he made a beeline for the space exhibit’s exit door. Rhythmic metal pounding against tiles sounded out behind him and a rush of air too close to the back of his neck warned of the robot right on his heels. “This cannot be happening! We’ve got to be dreaming!”

 _“With how that hit hurt?”_ Bradley scoffed. _“Much as I hate to admit it, I think we’re very much awake. Just keep running.”_

He didn’t need to be told, but he didn’t say so. 

Out into the hall the chase continued, pounding footsteps echoed by much louder and heavier ones. Gair wasn’t even sure where he was heading except for away from the space exhibit. 

_“Th’key for th’door! Get outside!”_ Bradley suddenly shouted.

Gair’s hand dove into his pants pocket and fished out the rusted key he’d been given earlier that evening, white knuckled grip on the small object to keep from dropping it. The exit door seemed forever away though and another swipe, close enough to slightly touch the back of his neck, proved that Kenny was just barely behind them. He wouldn’t be able to get the key into the lock without being caught.

Yet somehow that was what he did.

The rusted key was jammed into the door’s lock with such force it was a wonder the whole thing didn’t just break. A quick twist and a hard shove and Gair was outside and bolting down the museum steps as fast as he could go. Only he didn’t actually make it to the steps before running into something and face first, grabbing the thing he’d run into and pulling it down with him with a yelp.

“What in the absolute hell!” 

Gair blinked. That was an unfamiliar voice. Or, wait, no. He’d heard that voice somewhere before. With a glance down he realized that the thing he’d run into and pulled down wasn’t a thing, but rather a person. And they seemed outright mad at being sat on. And it took a full ten seconds before Gair realized that, yes, he was sitting on top of this man.

“Oh!” he yelped and quickly struggled to his feet. “I am so sorry!”

The man from earlier, who’d given him the key and quite possibly the job itself, rose on his own and brushed himself off with a clearly disgusted expression. “Why on earth are you running like your pants are on fire?”

The guard had the decency to look sheepish, but then blanked and whipped his head toward the door. Something wasn’t right. Where had the astronaut gone?

“And turn off your phone! That ringer is giving me a headache!”

Gair blinked. His phone was indeed going off quite loudly and he grabbed it to silence the alarm. He’d set it before even heading to the museum to remind himself of when his shift was over. Six on the dot in the morning. 

_”He’s talking t’you, Gairbith.”_ Bradley’s voice jolted him into looking up. The other was practically glaring at him and he had no idea what had been said.

“I’m sorry, what?”

The man huffed and put his hands on his hips, leaning forward into Gair’s space a bit. “I said why were you running like that?” he snapped.

“Because I-”

 _”Don’t you dare tell him about that robot!”_ There was urgency in his brother’s voice that cut off his explanation in an instant. _”We need this job t’work out! Tell him you were afraid of being late t’clock out on your first night.”_

Gair’s mouth turned down at the thought of lying like that. Especially since they’d been put in danger. But they really did need the job. So he sucked up his feelings on the matter and lied to the man’s face. “Because I thought I’d be late clocking out. I don’t want to do that on my first night.”

The man blinked hard as if he didn’t buy the story. Then his anger melted and an easy grin replaced it. “Oh, that’s all?” He leaned back out of Gair’s space and waved a dismissing hand in the air between them. “And here I thought you were about to spout off nonsense about ghosts or something like the last guy did. But you’re just in a rush to be a good employee.”

“Yes, sir.” Gair smiled slightly, glad his lie hadn’t been caught.

“Good. I think we’re gonna get along just swell then. Make sure to be here on time tonight! See you then!” And without waiting for another word, the man strolled through the museum doors and was gone. 

Gair stood staring at the doors for a long minute, almost afraid that the man would come running back out due to the killer robot inside. Yet he never did. There was no sound coming from behind the doors and soon they were unlocked to the public, though only the lone guard stood there for some time.

 _”Gair. Let’s... Let’s just go home, yeah?”_ Bradley sounded exhausted and honestly Gair felt the same way.

“Yeah. We’re going to need the sleep for... another night of work later...”

_”...We should be prepared tonight.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I took a poll on Discord whether GCBC should have an awkward staring match with Kenny or punch the robot. 
> 
> At least the boys still have their spine. For now.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So far we've met Kenny. Who's next to wake?

Preparing for hostile living robots was, as it turned out, quite hard.

When they’d gotten home they’d wracked their collective thoughts as to what should be brought along with them for the next night. They’d come up with barely any ideas. In the end the only thing they’d decided to bring was a backpack loaded with only a handful of items: a length of sturdy rope, a police baton that had been a gift from their father, wire cutters, and a book “just in case things turned out normal”.

Their boss, the man who had given them the key to the door on the first night, had looked at the backpack with suspicion when they’d shown up for their shift that evening. He’d looked even more suspicious after being shown what the pack had inside.

“It’s all just for precautions, sir.” Bradley had told him, being the one switched out at the time. Looking back on the moment they were glad he hadn’t asked why their voice had shifted so drastically since the previous night.

Eventually they were allowed to go about their evening, backpack still being regarded with suspicion, and they locked up the museum behind them. 

Bradley was hesitant to return to the space exhibit. The yellow astronaut’s attack the night before was still fresh in his mind as was the remembrance of how long it took for his hand to stop hurting. He didn’t want a repeat performance. However, doing his job meant patrolling all sections of the museum. Eventually he would have to pass through that room.

He walked slowly, taking his time, and reached the space exhibit after two long hours of wandering through almost every other room. It was quiet and he noticed with relief that the four colored robots still stood in their proper corners. His hand hovered over his left hip where he’d attached the baton to his belt just in case. 

A few steps into the room and he paused, turning toward a glass case when a tapping sound caught his attention. 

_”Oh, look at the cute little robot.”_ Gair said with a chipper tone. As if robots of any sort could be counted as ‘cute’ from then on. Yet, and his brother hated to admit it, the one they’d spotted was a bit cute in the same way people found those little house cleaning robots oddly endearing.

Bradley stepped over to the case and knelt down, watching the little ‘bot behind the glass. It was about three feet tall not counting the foot long black antenna on the top of it, blue with silver arms and a silver stand attached to a single wheel that it balanced on, and had a small sheet of yellow glass on the front of its ‘face’. It had been tapping on the glass, but had started waving nonstop at the guard when he’d walked over. Bradley raised a hand and waved back and the little robot spun in a circle on its wheel before hopping in place and pointing behind him.

“Y’think it wants something?” he asked aloud.

 _”Well, what’s behind us?_ Gair answered.

Bradley turned to see, looking back to gauge where the cased robot was pointing, and raised a brow. “The blue spaceman?”

Slowly he stood, glancing back once more to see the ‘bot frozen in its pointing pose. After a moment Bradley sighed and walked across the room to the blue astronaut and examined it.

The break in the bottom of the helmet looked entirely fixable and he wondered why it remained broken. All it needed was a bit of a patch job. That wasn’t his call to make though so he’d leave it alone. It didn’t seem to extend into the glass visor at least. Bradley raised a hand toward the helmet, intent on feeling out the damage, when a familiar whir of fans kicking into overdrive made him freeze.

Quickly he whipped around to face the yellow astronaut only to find it completely motionless with its visor lights still off. Next to it the white ‘bot was still as well. Then he turned toward the wall next to him where the pink suit stood.

Only to have to jump back after coming face to face inches away from a digital smile.

“Well hello there, friend!” the pink astronaut practically shouted with a computerized voice. Then it extended a hand and pointed to a large plate bolted to the wall nearby with the museum rules posted to it. “The sign says ‘do not touch’ so please follow the rules!”

The baton had been unclipped from his belt in an instant and Bradley prepared to fight. 

_”It’s still smiling._ Gair pointed out. _”The last one went red before it attacked. I think we’re okay right now._

Unaware of how close Bradley was to smashing its face in, the robot continued. “The museum is currently closed! You shouldn’t be here, friend!”

“I’m on duty as th’new night guard.” Bradley informed it. “And I’d appreciate it if you lot would stay asleep at night from now on.”

The pink astronaut stared him down for a moment before making a noise that may or may not have been a simulated laugh. 

“That’s a good one, friend!” It made a motion like wiping a tear away from one of its pixel eyes. “Unfortunately not compliable! We’re not to blame for waking up and nothing can stop us!”

“Again,” Bradley murmured, “very ominous.”

_”I agree. Do you think this place really is haunted?_

Bradley didn’t want to say yes, but there was too much that said otherwise. AI only went so far in electronics and these robots so far had been too advanced for that. “I’m starting to believe it.” he eventually said. Then to the pink astronaut: “So who are you supposed t’be?”

“Why I’m your best pal, Lenny! Here to assist fellow space explorers and answer questions about our wonderful galaxy!”

“Right... Alright then, tell me something.” Bradley motioned toward the blue astronaut beside him, not missing the flicker in Lenny’s visor. “What’s the deal with this one?”

Lenny glanced toward its blue counterpart and Bradley could have sworn a look like sadness flickered in its screen. “That’s Benny.” Lenny said nothing else and the guard quietly sighed.

“Why’s it broken?” he tried again.

This time a red flicker appeared in the visor and Bradley put up his guard, grip tightening on his baton. Lenny’s head turned his way and red pixels slowly took over the yellowed glass while the smile bled into a frown. Just as it had happened the previous night with the yellow astronaut.

“Benny didn’t play by _his_ rules and made _him_ mad. _He_ had Benny ki-KRRRRRRR-”

Bradley yelped and slammed his hands over his ears, baton dropping to the floor, as a loud horrible distorted note ripped through the air. The pink astronaut’s frame jerked in place for a few terrifying seconds before simply flopping forward at the waist and shutting down. Slowly the guard removed his hands from the sides of his head and stared at the downed animatronic. After another pause the whir of fans kicking on began again and Lenny pulled itself up to stand tall. Its face was back to yellow lights and the smile had returned, but now it simply stood staring at the blue astronaut silently.

 _“Well. That was... odd.”_

Bradley agreed with a nod.

 _“Can I swap in for a bit?”_

Hesitantly his brother allowed the switch and Gair took a cautious step toward the pink ‘bot. “Lenny?”

The astronaut’s head turned slowly to face him. “Can I help you?”

Gair glanced between the two animatronics and made a motion toward Benny. “Is... Is Benny alright?” 

Lenny didn’t respond. Slowly its head swiveled back to face the broken ‘bot and it stood, a hand reaching out toward its blue counterpart.

Then Gair’s phone alarm went off in his pocket.

Instantly the pink astronaut jolted, turned, and plodded back to its corner. There it suddenly powered off like a switch had been flicked. Gair watched it with a furrowed brow. 

“Something’s not right here, Brad.” he mumbled. “And I think it’s much bigger than we think.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally Lenny was going to have a wrench and get into a big fight with GCBC, but I ended up cutting that out. The fight scene just wouldn't cooperate with me and I didn't like how it kept turning out.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter's a bit late because things here have been busy. My days for a while have been full of work early shift starting around 7 AM then jumping straight from work to driving class straight to a driver's instruction classroom. Then get home around 8 PM, shower, eat, and pass out to start over the next day.
> 
> It hasn't been fun and I've been so exhausted.
> 
> So this one is short, but it brings in a new plot point. And the next chapter should be out a lot sooner since my driving classes are almost over and I'll have time to write again.

Business stepped into the room with a glare. His eyes scanned each of the four robotic astronauts slowly before he made his way toward the broken blue one.

It was after closing, but before he could expect his newest night guard to arrive so he was alone in the museum for a while. This was the time he always used to make sure things were running according to plan. Just him and the animatronics as he needed it to be.

“That guard is still showing up.” He spoke slowly and deliberately. “Which makes me curious. Have any of you even tried to do your job?” A pointed look was given to each astronaut before his gaze settled on the blue in front of him. “Need I remind you of the consequences of not getting your job done?”

He reached out and flipped up the visor on the broken ‘bot, a grating sound piercing the silence as the glass was forced over the broken edge of the helmet. Behind him came the sudden whir of fans, but he wasn’t worried. The astronauts couldn’t move before nightfall no matter how angered he made them.

Business grinned as he stared into the wiring of the blue, noting with satisfaction the still missing bulb that should have illuminated the glass behind the visor. With a hum he pulled a small pair of wire cutters from a loop on his belt and inched them into the wiring, catching a thick cord between the blades and turning to look across the room again. He wouldn’t actually cut the wire, but he needed his threat to be known. 

The angry whirring around him had kicked up until it sounded like a swarm of hornets gunning for blood and he knew he had full attention.

“Let this be a warning.” He said after removing the cutters and shutting the visor, “Next time I _will_ cut that wire. Now if you lot were smart I would suggest doubling your effort and actually killing that guard.”

\---

“So you’re being haunted?” 

“Precisely.”

“And you think Vitruvius can help you... what? Talk to the supposed ghost?”

“Well, he is a ghost himself.”

Wyldstyle made a face at that comment and sighed loudly. “He is _not_. He just insists on wearing that stupid bed sheet and running around telling people he’s a ghost. He’s not even actually dead! He just likes pretending for some reason!”

Bradley took a long sip from his coffee cup, refusing to go down that path again. They both knew what they’d seen that night concerning Vitruvius and if Wyldstyle didn’t want to believe it then that was on her.

“Regardless,” he finally continued after a pause, “I really do think he’s th’best bet we’ve got in this matter.”

The questionable ghost matter dropped, Wyldstyle sat back in her chair and relaxed. “Yeah, well, I can ask him for you next time I see him. But he hasn’t been around much lately. So it might be a few days.”

“With th’way things are going I don’t think I have a few days t’wait.” Bradley half mumbled. 

Silence stretched between the two for a minute while they finished their respective mugs of coffee. Then, before either could start up again, someone else joined them at the table.

“I don’t mean to butt in on your conversation and I didn’t mean to eavesdrop,” Emmett began, “but it sounds like there’s a pattern to your haunting, Brad.”

“Brad _ley_ , Brickowski.” 

_”Oh, you’ve tried to get him to stop with that nickname for weeks. Give it up.”_ Gair giggled at him, only further fueling his annoyance at said nickname.

Undeterred, Emmet simply smiled at him. “Emmet, Brad.”

Wyldstyle quickly ducked her head and hid behind her mug, shoulders shaking with silent laughter. Bradley groaned and slumped back in his chair. “Fine, fine.” he grumbled. “Now you said there’s a pattern. Neither of us have seen anything remotely pattern-like so, please, do tell.”

“Okay, okay, so maybe it’s not a _pattern_ , but I did notice something you said sounded important.” Emmet paused to get comfortable in his chair, leaning toward Bradley and giving a very serious look. Or about as serious a look as Emmet was capable of. “The robots are alive, yeah? But you said the blue one’s broken. And you tried to touch the blue one which woke up the one last night.”

“Y’think there’s something up with the broken blue?” Bradley raised a questioning brow. Lenny had seemed a bit strange regarding the blue. Not to mention the little cased robot that had been pointing at the blue as if wanting something.

 _”Or maybe it knows something that we don’t.”_

Bradley hummed at the thought.

“I’m just saying.” Emmet continued. “Maybe it’s broken for a reason. Someone found something out about it and put a stop to it? Maybe the blue’s actually the leader, but, like, corrupt and the others don’t want it waking up. Or, oh!” Now he waved his arms excitedly and a wide smile took over his serious expression. “Maybe they’re protecting it! Think about it! It’s already broken, right? Maybe at this point it’s entirely fixable, but they think you’re trying to break it more!”

Both Bradley and Wyldstyle stared at Emmet for a long minute with calculating looks. Then they glanced at each other. 

“It... does make some sense.” Wyldstyle was the first to admit. 

“That it does.” Bradley agreed. “But if that is th’case then how do we let them know that we’re not out to break anything? We just want t’do our job and go home at th’end of our shift.”

Emmet’s serious expression came back and he sat back to think on that. It only took him a few moments before drawing a conclusion and nodding to himself. “Maybe figure out what’s actually broken. If you can get close, of course. If you find what’s broken and fix it then maybe you’ll earn their trust or respect or both!”

Bradley set his mug down on the edge of the table and ran a hand down his face slowly. So his best bet was to get close enough to the broken ‘bot to find out what was wrong with it and try to fix it while potentially being attacked by the others. It didn’t sound like a good chance. But what else could he do?

“If I die trying t’fix that thing I want you t’know it’s your fault, Brickowski.” he grumbled.

Emmet gave him a worried look at that. “You won’t die!” he quickly said. “You’ll live! You’ll be fine!”

“Relax, Emmet.” Wyldstyle rolled her eyes and fixed Bradley with a less than amused stare. “He’s just messing with you. Of course he’s not gonna die. Right, _Brad_?”

Bradley’s lips curved downward as hers curled up.

“Of course.” he said. “We’ll be fine, _Snazzypantz_.”

“Hey! I don’t go by that anymore!”

At least if their new plan went sour and they ended up dead they’d have this last good laugh with friends.

They really hoped there would be more laughing and less death in their future though.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's Jenny!

That night found their backpack a bit heavier- weighted down with wire snips, a roll of thin copper wire, a small welding torch, screwdrivers, pliers, and a few other items. They’d tried to think of anything and everything that they might need for the planned repair job and had packed everything that had come to mind. The added weight hadn’t gone unnoticed, however. Gair had caught their boss giving the bag suspicious glances. Thankfully he hadn’t asked about it and had left them alone for the evening after wishing them luck.

Almost as soon as the doors were locked the sound of heavy footfalls came slowly down the hall.

“Sounds like someone’s coming to greet us...” Gair murmured.

Quietly he slipped away from the door and further down the hall, ducking behind the front service desk to stash his bag. It would have been nicer to be able to keep everything on hand, but all the loose items he knew would rattle too loudly for any form of stealth. And stealth he would need.

“Where have you gone?” a digital woman’s voice called out. “Don’t hide from me.”

 _”Keep your head down, Gairbith. It sounds close.”_

Gair listened closely and crouched low to the floor to peer under the tiny gap on the bottom edge of the desk. It took a few steps for the white booted feet of the astronaut to appear in his line of sight, but soon that was what happened. The guard held his breath and waited for it to pass by.

 _“Well that’s th’last one then.”_ Bradley whispered, though he didn’t need to. _”If it’s hunting us down then your best bet is to stay hidden. I have a bad feeling about this one._

Gair had to agree.

He watched the white boots pace around the area, trying to keep his breathing silent, and willed the ‘bot to move on. Luck wasn’t on his side that night though.

“Why must this be difficult?” the astronaut spoke again. Clear annoyance rang through the simulated woman’s voice. “Come out and we can finally finish this little game.”

_“If I didn’t have a bad feeling before, I definitely do now.”_

Gair didn’t dare move. He didn’t even breath. 

Then the robot let out a long and slow digital sigh.

“I’m getting tired of waiting.”

Suddenly the boots turned toward the desk and Gair’s eyes widened when they began to near his hiding place.

 _“Gairbith, move!”_ Bradley shouted.

He dove from behind the desk just as a white gloved hand swung in the air where his head had been, fingers curled like claws. There was a moment where he simply stood staring at the white astronaut and its head tilted up to look at him. The glass was already bright red and the illusion of an expression of rage covered the screen. Slowly the hand withdrew from beneath the desk and the robot stood.

“Don’t move.” it growled. “And I’ll make this quick.”

Gair turned and bolted down the hall before the ‘bot could take a single step. A loud roar of rage sounded out followed by pounding footsteps.

“She’s gaining on me!” Gair shouted in alarm as he ran for his life. 

_“Head to th’space exhibit! Go for th’blue!”_

The instant Gair turned down a familiar corridor the astronaut behind him let loose another rage filled scream and somehow gained speed. Just as it seemed that it would catch up, Gair slid into the right room and bolted for the broken animatronic. Hot on his heels was the killer white ‘bot, but it froze as soon as the guard’s hand touched the blue’s visor.

“Get away from him.” the astronaut hissed, static crackling through its voice.

“You get away from me!” Gair shouted back.

The two stood rooted in their places for a long heavy minute just staring at the other and one waiting for the other to back down. Then the white astronaut took a single step forward. Gair responded by flipping the visor over the broken helmet, wincing at the screech of glass on metal that followed. It gave his pursuer another pause though.

“Brad.” Gair whispered after another moment. “What do I do? I left the bag under the desk. I don’t have any tools.”

 _“And you can’t look away or it might attack again.”_ Bradley said.

Gair swallowed nervously. He hadn’t even thought about not being able to turn to see what he was working with.

“You have no plan at this point.” the astronaut began. “And I can out last you. Step away from Benny. Surrender. Make this easy on both of us.” It stood waiting, not moving an inch, and glared hatefully with that red face of rage.

_“Shit, Gair. It’s got us backed into a corner.”_

A tapping sound suddenly started up.

The astronaut’s head turned slowly and Gair took the opportunity to glance back into the void behind the broken visor. A mass of wires greeted him, but no damage was apparent. Everything looked like it was in the right place as far as he could tell. He wasn’t familiar with robotics of this level. The one thing he could see was an empty place for something to screw into right behind where the glass would sit.

_“Too big t’be a screw that goes there.”_

“Maybe a light?”

_“Could be. But we didn’t think t’bring a bulb.”_

“Oh, darn...”

The sound of breaking glass snapped the brothers out of their thoughts and had Gair whipping his head around. His eyes went wide as he saw the white astronaut standing at a display nearby, hand smashed right through and glass shards raining to the floor as it pulled out a compact little weapon. All grey with a bright green glowing muzzle, the specialized space pistol was quickly aimed at the guard. Gair’s eyes squeezed shut and he tensed.

The click from the gun was deafening.

Instantly Gair became a flurry of movement- ducking around the blue astronaut and taking off for the door. He couldn’t fight the ‘bot and he couldn’t fix the broken one, but he knew what to do. If he could get outside and lock the doors he could wait for the next night and bring a bulb with him. Then he could fix the blue and hopefully put an end to the madness.

A sudden heavy pain against his knee had him yelping and crashing to the floor, catching himself from going face first against the tile. The oddly colored gun spun a few feet away to one side and the killer ‘bot began to advance toward the weapon. Gair scrabbled to his feet as the astronaut scooped up the pistol and turned toward him again.

 _“We know it doesn’t have bullets now._ Bradley pointed out. _“It’s a useless weapon.”_

That didn’t stop Gair from backing away from the advancing robot though. Useless weapon or no they’d shown that they were dangerous.

“You have no chance of escape.” the ‘bot started. “You have no chance of defeating me. Surrender and you won’t suffer.” The hand holding the gun raised, aimed at Gair even with no bullets. 

Gair swallowed thickly and eyed the weapon. “You have nothing to shoot me with.” he pointed out. “Your weapon is useless.”

The astronaut paused. Its screen flickered. Then it looked at the gun as if just realizing something. “It’s not useless.” it said slowly after a moment. “It just has a different purpose.”

Then it darted forward with a yell and brought the gun down with a surprising speed. Gair only just managed to raise an arm in front of his face to avoid the blow, but shock hit him when he felt a hand wrap around his wrist instead of any hit.

“It became a distraction.”

Wide eyes looked up at the white astronaut just as that hand snapped to the side, a sickening crunch following as the movement forced bone into a position it was never meant for. Gair’s scream cut through the room and he backpedaled the instant he was released.

_“Gairbith! Switch out!”_

It wasn’t so much his choice as his brother’s forceful push from the back of their mind, but Gair had gone back and Bradley suddenly fronted only to let out his own scream as the pain of their newly broken wrist registered. He tucked the limb close to his chest, each movement agony, and gritted his teeth tightly.

“Surrender.” the ‘bot growled again.

“Fuck you!” was Bradley’s reply.

He made as if to dart around the animatronic, but dodged the opposite way when it moved to stop him. Back to Benny he ran, though now entirely unsure what to do. His eyes darted around the room wildly for an idea.

_“There!”_

His eyes caught the glass case his brother had pointed out and he nodded with a determined expression. A quick glance back revealed the astronaut coming toward him again with the gun clenched in its grip. He wouldn’t fall for that trick again. 

“Come an’ get me, ya sack of scrap!” he taunted as he ran for the case. A snarl answered and pounding footsteps echoed behind. He had one shot at this and hoped it was the right idea. 

He slid to a stop and turned, back to the glass, to bare his teeth at the astronaut. It didn’t slow as it ran for him, raising the gun high above its head and swinging downward when it neared. At the last second Bradley dove to the side and the ‘bot continued forward with too much momentum.

The glass case shattered and instantly the screech of a wheel on the floor sounded out. Cheerful sounding beeps were let out and the little robot they’d seen the previous night went zooming past them on a bee line for the blue astronaut. Bradley almost smiled at the sight, reminded of a puppy running for its owner. Then he was snapped back to the present by a robotic scream.

He turned just in time to avoid being punched in the face.

“You’re stubborn.” it growled. 

Bradley couldn’t move quick enough to avoid being grabbed by the arms, a bark of pain leaving him as his broken wrist was jostled. The astronaut spun in place, pulling Bradley off his feet, and launched him across the room to be thrown against the nearest wall. The hit knocked the wind out of him and he crumpled to the floor unable to get a breath in. All he could do was watch as the white astronaut stalked toward him and reached out with fingers curled like claws.

Then a sudden loud beep and the whir of more fans.

“Jenny, stop!”


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Our last little astronaut joins the party and Jenny finally chills out.

Everything suddenly went very still.

Slowly the white astronaut began to turn. 

Bradley peered behind the ‘bot as best he could, but was hindered as the little robot zipped in front of him. It chirped cheerfully at him and carefully maneuvered him into a sitting position then pulled a roll of gauze from a panel that popped open on its chest. The guard shouted when it took hold of his broken wrist, but it wouldn’t allow him to pull away as it wrapped the bone tightly between two thin metal rods. Bradley hadn’t even seen it produce those.

“Benny?” he heard the digital woman’s voice nearly whisper. “You’re awake...”

The little robot moved out of the way and Bradley was finally able to see what was going on behind it. His brows raised in surprise when he saw the blue astronaut moving. A quick glance was spared to the robot beside him and he wondered what it had done.

“Yep!” the blue happily declared. “Oh man, it’s been so long! Hey, you on the floor! Thank you so much!”

Bradley jumped a bit as the blue astronaut suddenly came toward him, but was pleasantly surprised when all it did was help him to his feet. The screen on its visor was lit up with an extremely bright smile and the glass was the normal yellow. A moment later the white astronaut came to stand at the blue’s side and Bradley relaxed slightly after seeing its visor had changed to yellow as well and the rage filled expression had calmed.

“Uh...” Bradley glanced between the two astronauts. “I didn’t do much, but you’re welcome.”

The blue’s eyes rolled, actually rolled, and Bradley wondered what sort of electronics could do that so fluidly. If the other three were advanced, this one was even more so.

“Didn’t do much he says.” 

The two astronauts shared a computerized laugh.

Bradley was entirely too confused. Gair, in the back of their mind, was too.

“I... don’t understand. I woke up th’blue. That’s all.” Bradley tried again. 

“That’s all?” the white astronaut asked with something like disbelief in its voice. “Benny hasn’t woken in years. None of us knew how to wake him. And _he_ always threatens to harm Benny if we did wake him.”

_“Who’s ‘he’?”_

“Who’s ‘he’?”

The astronauts exchanged glances before the white one shook its head. “I can’t tell you.” it said almost sadly. 

“But I can.” the blue one chimed in. “And the best part is it’s his fault.” But no explanation came. Bradley raised a brow, waiting patiently for a moment longer.

“Well?” the guard finally prompted.

“Well what?” its head tilted slightly. “Oh! Hang on, never mind, I know! His name is B-B-B-B-B-” The start of the name became stuck on repeat like a broken record until the ‘bot suddenly smacked the side of its head and its voice cut off. “Okay, so maybe I can’t tell you yet. Maybe later.”

Bradley let out a sigh through his nose and reached his good hand to pinch the bridge. “There may not be a next time after tonight.” he explained. “I’m going t’be in a world of trouble for those.” There he paused to point at the broken displays until both astronauts looked. “And I’ll most likely lose my job.”

Again the two astronauts shared a look, seemingly silently communicating. After a moment they glanced down to the little wheeled ‘bot that had stayed close to Bradley. 

“You think he could fix it?” the white asked.

“I think so. Probably. Eh, maybe?” the blue answered.

 _“Why don’t you start thinking of them by name, Brad?”_ Gair questioned quietly. _“It would be a lot easier on everyone versus using their colors all the time, don’t you think?”_

Bradley raised a brow at his brother’s questioning. He didn’t see the issue with calling them by color. It wasn’t like they were all the same.

 _“Well maybe you don’t mind,”_ Gair continued, _“but I can’t help but feel like we’re being watched by more than just the astronauts. Like some sort of outside presence is watching us for entertainment. And I can’t help but think having to hear them all refereed to by color constantly may be growing a bit dull and irritating.”_

“That doesn’t make any sense, Gairbith.” Bradley said. “Are you suggesting that we’re just... I don’t know... In some story being written by The Man Upstairs?”

_“Well, I mean... I feel like it’s more like a story by The Woman Upstairs...”_

“Hey!” Benny suddenly called out. “You two done breaking the fourth wall over there yet?”

“Breaking th’what now?” Bradley asked, utterly confused at this point.

Benny only answered with a digital laugh. Then he turned to look down at the little robot, now at his heels, and gave the thing a friendly pat on the top of its ‘head’. “Think you can fix up those cases so our new friends don’t get into trouble, Moppy?”

The little robot responded with a series of chirps and whistles, zipped off toward the broken displays, and began sucking up glass with a little tube that extended from its side. Quicker than he thought possible, Bradley watched the glass being pieced back together until it looked like they’d never been touched. His jaw had dropped a bit in shock and he jumped when a cool metal hand settled on his shoulder.

“There! Good as new!” Benny chirped. Then his eyes caught onto the guard’s splinted arm and his expression flickered. “He can’t really fix that though so, um, you’re on your own with that explanation. Sorry.”

Jenny then took a step closer to him and her expression flickered as well. “I’m sorry about that as well...”

Bradley waved them off, unsure what to make of the complete change in attitude. “Eh, we’ll manage.”

A moment later his phone alarm chimed and Jenny snapped up straight and quickly retreated to her corner of the room. Exactly like Lenny had done the previous night. The little robot, Moppy, even scooted back into its case.

Benny, however, stayed where he was.

Bradley stared at the astronaut for a moment. “So I’m guessing you’re not affected by whatever that is.” 

Benny shook his head slowly and began to look between the other three with a frown. “Nope.” he said simply. “It’s complicated, but once I can actually tell you about it it’ll make more sense. For now you just need to know that I’m different and not all the rules apply the same way to me that they do to my crew.”

_“Looks like Emmet was right about him being the leader of the group.”_

“You should also know,” Benny continued with a more serious tone, “that things are going to get a lot more dangerous for you since I’m awake.” He paused to look at Bradley and a blip of worry dotted his screen for a moment. “If you’ll keep coming back. We won’t blame you if you don’t.”

Bradley frowned. Things had already been dangerous since he’d started the job, so the idea of things getting worse wasn’t a good thing. Then again, there was a real mystery there that he knew was only just beginning. He wasn’t sure if he _could_ stay away at that point.

“I’ll keep coming back.” he answered. “So long as I can pass off a broken wrist without much trouble, I’ll keep coming back.”

Benny smiled at that and nodded his head once. “Good. We’ll be waiting for you tomorrow night.” 

Bradley walked beside him as the blue astronaut made his way back to his corner and stood in place. Just as the guard was about to turn to make his leave, a hand on his shoulder stopped him. With a questioning look he turned back.

“It’s better if the guy doesn’t find out I was awake. So I need to ask you to take the bulb back out of my head.”

The guard nodded and reached out after Benny had gone still, raising the visor and unscrewing the bulb behind the glass. The astronaut’s fans shut off instantly and his body slumped a bit, Bradley withdrawing his good arm quickly and staring into the dark section of wires. He glanced down at the little bulb in his hand curiously and wondered what about it was so important that it could ‘kill’ the ‘bot so suddenly.

He’d have to ask and see if he could get an answer the next night. For now he simply held the bulb carefully and turned to take his leave.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Moppy has an internal storage space and was designed to aid the astronauts with anything they may need. It makes sense that he can repair broken glass so quickly.
> 
> Also watch out for those fourth wall breaks!


	8. Chapter 8

“Run into some trouble today?”

Gair reached a hand behind his head to scratch nervously at the nape of his neck. His broken wrist had been splinted more properly and now hung from a sling. The man he’d come to know as his boss stood staring at it suspiciously, arms folded over his chest and weight cocked to one hip.

“Just a short tumble off a ladder.” Gair said with a smile. “Doing some housework. Landed all wrong on it. Shouldn’t stop me from doing my job though, sir!”

“Mhm...” The man’s suspicious look increased a fraction before suddenly being replaced with a wide smile of his own. Something about it seemed off to the guard though. Too sharp at the edges. “You know what? I don’t think we’ve been properly introduced since you started this job.” He took a step closer, getting a bit too close, and held out a hand. “I’m Sirius Business. And your name is...?”

“Ah, Gairbith Copperson, sir. Gair for short.” Gair reached out his good hand to shake the other man’s, almost flinching at the strength behind a quick grip he received.

“Pleased to meet you, Gair. Pleased indeed.” Business stated. Then he took a step back, crossed his arms, and continued to smile with that odd sharpness. “What say you and I go somewhere to chat, hmm? I know a great little coffee shop open twenty-four-seven down the street that serves a great cuppa joe.”

Gair frowned slightly and peered past Business toward the museum doors. “But...”

“Oh, don’t worry about your job! I own the place so I’ll know if anything happens!” Business was quick to say. “Just a single night off. Consider it a paid night for your injury.” He gave a pointed look to the guard’s sling bound arm.

 _“Benny said he would be waiting for us tonight.”_ Bradley pointed out. Then with a slight growl, _“This seems fishy.”_

Gair nodded subtly, agreeing with his twin. Their boss had yet to say much to them at all and suddenly he wanted to chat? It gave them both a suspicious feeling. And yet...

_“Maybe he knows something about what’s been going on. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to see if we can get some information out of him.”_

“I suppose one night off wouldn’t be too bad. As long as you really don’t mind, sir” Gair finally said. He put on a friendly smile, feeling anything but at the moment, and tried not to flinch when a hand clapped on his shoulder.

“Of course I don’t mind!” Business replied. “Now let’s get going! The place is just down the road so you don’t mind a quick walk, right?”

\---

“Where is that guy?” 

Jenny huffed, a bout of static flickering through her voice. She’d been standing around in wait for a while since the museum had locked down for the night and the guard hadn’t shown up. A worried glance back toward Benny showed him to still be powered down- unable to wake until he got his bulb back.

Such a big problem felled with such a small solution. She wished she knew why.

A glance toward the wall mounted clock above the entry door showed that it had been half an hour since she’d been waiting.

She hoped the guard hadn’t been killed off.

\---

Gair hummed quietly as he took a sip from the paper cup he’d been handed. The coffee from the little shop was good, but ruined slightly due to Business’s weird annoyance with his order. His boss had tried, for whatever reason, to get him to order his coffee black. Gair couldn’t stomach straight black coffee though. Too bitter, he’d said. It had been turned almost the color of milk with sweeteners and he caught his boss curling his lip in disgust with each sip he took. 

By the time the actually sat down at one of the tables he’d already finished half his cup while his boss had barely touched his own black coffee.

“So,” Business had started, “you’re doing rather well on the job.” It wasn’t a question, but a statement.

“What makes you say so, sir?” Gair questioned. “Pardon me if I come across as rude, but you haven’t spent any time on the job with me. How would you know if I’m doing well? I’ve noticed the lack of security cameras so I know you haven’t been watching me either.”

Business had seemed surprised at that, but masked it with a long drink from his cup. “Oh, you’ve noticed? Good eye.” He smiled at Gair as if they were old friends and nodded slowly. “Mostly due to budget cuts, you know.”

_“Or th’fact that you’re hiding killer robots and don’t want anyone else to see.”_

Gair almost snorted into his drink at that. He disguised it with a coughing fit.

“Careful, Gair. I tried to warn you against adding so much sweetener.” Then, so quietly Gair could almost imagine he hadn’t heard, “You’re already much too sweet.”

“W-What was that last bit, sir?” Gair thumped a hand against his chest to stop the cough and raised a brow at his boss.

“Huh?” For a split second he looked like he’d been caught. Then he simply played it off with a bit of a frown. “I said I tried to warn you against all that sweetness. It’s cloying.”

Gair returned the frown with one of his own. Purposely he took a long annoying draw from his cup, slurping loudly. When he was done he set the almost empty cup down with a satisfied noise.

“I happen to enjoy my sweets, thank you. I’m not one for anything bitter.” 

Business rose a brow and a hint of a cheeky smile tugged at one corner of his lips. “I bet you’d actually enjoy a few bitter things in life. Lots of good food and drink is bitter.” Then his voice dropped an octave and he leaned in toward Gair. “Sometimes the best people are a bit bitter too.”

The guard wasn’t sure what to make of that. He straightened in his seat and, against his wishes, felt warmth spread across his cheeks.

 _“Is he flirting with you?”_ Bradley sounded just as confused as his twin felt.

Before he could stop himself, Gair was responding out loud. Quietly, almost too faint to even be called a whisper, but out loud nonetheless. “I would hope not...”

“What was that?” Business was full on grinning now. “You don’t think so, Gair?”

He’d almost been caught talking to ‘himself’, but now he had an out.

“No, sir, I don’t.” he quickly answered. “Bitter people are just that. Bitter. They’re not fun to be around in the slightest.”

“I’d beg to differ. And I bet I could change your mind.”

“Oh? And how so?”

_“Careful...”_

“Let me join you in the museum tomorrow night. There’s an unfinished display soon to be revealed. I’ll give you a first look and see what you think.” 

Gair paused. Bradley was radiating a protective aura, wanting to switch out but not wanting to give up their dual born secret to their boss. They had a choice to make.

_“It sounds like a trap. Or, at the least, a bad plan to get you alone. I’ll let you call the shot on this one, Gairbith.”_

He hummed as if in thought then put on that falsely friendly smile once again. “Alright, sure. Since you own the museum anyway and I can’t rightfully tell you to stay out while I’m working. And you’ve got me. I’m curious now to see what exciting new thing you’ll unveil. I’ve seen everything else by now.”

“Really?” Business snapped back in his seat and smiled wide. The sharp edge was back to it, but Gair didn’t show his unease at the sight. “Awesome! I’ll already be there so I’ll have everything ready before you arrive. It’s going to be great, just you wait.”

Gair nodded and stood, tossing out his cup and heading for the door. “I’ll see you tomorrow, sir.”

_“If he tries anything tomorrow I’ll swap out and deal with him.”_

“It’ll be fine, Brad.” Gair answered after walking out of the shop and closing the door. He peered back to see Business still sitting at the table sipping his coffee. “I think I could handle him myself if it comes down to it.”

_“I don’t doubt it. But I’d still like to kick his rump myself.”_

This time Gair didn’t try to hide his amused chuckle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another calm before a storm. Buckle up and prepare.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got really into my writing so y'all get another chapter already!

_“Are you sure you’ll be alright, Gairbith?”_

Gair knew his brother was just worried about him, but he didn’t hold back a sigh. It wasn’t the first time Bradley had asked the exact same question. 

“I’ll be fine, Brad.” he answered. “I have my knife in my pocket and you know I know how to fight.”

 _“You’re also down an arm if it comes t’that.”_

“Point. Still. I’m sure whoever’s awake tonight will come help me if I yell too. Stop worrying so much. We’re here anyway.”

The doors to the museum before him seemed oddly sinister that night. Maybe it was just Bradley’s unease seeping into his side of their mind. With a shake of his head Gair stepped inside and locked the door behind him.

It was quiet inside. No footsteps came down the hall to greet him and no voices could be heard. His boss was supposed to still be there. Had he forgotten about them meeting that night?

“Hello?” Gair called out as he began to walk down the hall. “Sir? Are you still here?”

Only silence greeted him. Now he was starting to feel a bit uneasy. Maybe going to greet the astronauts would lighten the mood. He wondered which one would be awake to greet him.

On the way to the space exhibit he stopped at the front desk and checked beneath the piece of furniture, glad to see his backpack was still stashed there. Even better was the fact that Benny’s light bulb was still laying safely on top of everything else when he got into the bag. If Business had skipped out on him then he was going to wake up his newest friend. Maybe Benny would be able to tell him something now.

The space exhibit was chaotic when he entered.

Glass from shattered displays crunched below Gair’s boots and he stared wide eyed at the empty corners where the astronauts should have been. Even Benny’s spot was vacant. 

“Wh... What happened...” he whispered.

_“Gairbith, look. That little robot’s still there.”_

At his brother’s voice he glanced up and felt a small relief wash over him. Benny’s little helper ‘bot was still in an undamaged display case- a crate sitting on top to keep it shut. Quickly the guard rushed over and shoved the crate off, opening the lid and releasing the robot who did a few laps around his legs and chirped loudly.

“Hey, hey, easy!” Gair smiled and pat the robot’s top like he’d seen Benny do. “Ah, Moppy, wasn’t it? Where’d everyone go, little buddy?”

His question earned him a few quieter chirps and Moppy turned to scoot toward the door, lifting an arm to point out. Gair walked over and began to follow the robot as it rolled down the halls. An unfamiliar corridor loomed before him after a few turns and he frowned at the sight. He’d roamed the whole museum before and hadn’t seen this section.

_“This is starting to feel like a trap.”_

“Only starting to?” Gair tried to lighten the mood, but Bradley’s unease only grew.

_“Just keep up with Moppy. And get your knife ready just in case. I have a bad feeling we’re going to walk into something big.”_

He pulled the knife he’d brought with him from his pocket and held it tight, not yet flipping the blade out. Ahead of him Moppy continued to wheel down the hall until they reached a single closed door at the end. An “Employee’s Only” sign was taped in the middle in bright red.

“Well,” Gair mumbled, “I _am_ an employee...”

Carefully he reached out and gripped the doorknob, opening the door as slowly as he could. The room within was pitch black and he groped the wall for a light switch. Finding none he stepped in and left the door hanging open behind him to let in a little light from the hall.

It slammed shut behind him the moment his entire frame was inside.

A second later a bright light snapped on right in his face and he raised his good arm to shield his eyes. 

“Gair! So glad you could make it!”

He sucked in a sharp breath and fought the blinding light to try to spot the owner of that familiar voice. 

“Could you turn off that light, sir? It’s incredibly hard to see past it.” he called out. A chuckle was his answer, but the light did dim enough that he could look up without squinting.

The room he’d stepped into was a mess. Thick cords draped over the walls and floor, more broken glass was strewn about, and the area smelled faintly of burning. Something stood in the four corners of the room and one in the center of the room with black tarps draped over them that pooled on the floor. The sight of them made the twins both uneasy. Then he turned his attention to Business. The man had gotten closer to him and was smiling with that strange sharp edge.

“What’s going on, sir?” Gair asked after a moment. 

Business chuckled again and slung an arm around the guard’s neck, steering him into the room without a care for the glass below their feet. “Why, I’m showing you the museum’s newest attraction! And I gotta tell you, it’s going to be the absolute best thing that’s happened in a long time. I just know it! And it’s all thanks to you!”

“Thanks to me?” Gair planted his feet firmly, his boss stumbling slightly as he tried to keep walking. “What exactly is this new attraction and what does it have to do with me?”

Now Business’s smile stretched into a grin that showed off too many of his teeth. It was a manic look and Gair fought against taking a step back to put distance between them.

“Okay, okay, I suppose you do deserve to know a bit before the big reveal.” 

Business snapped his fingers and suddenly the room filled with the sound of whirring. The black drapes over three of the figures flung away from what was beneath and Gair found the astronauts staring back at him. They didn’t move toward either human and none spoke. The only movement came from their heads turning just enough to track Business as he walked toward the fourth corner and pulled the drape off of a still offline Benny. Then he moved to the center and pulled the drape off a fifth astronaut, this one a light gray color and also offline.

“Ta-da!” Business called in excitement, motioning to the fifth astronaut as if it was the answer to everything. “It’s a little plain, I know, but it can be personalized later if everything works out. I might even give you a special badge to show you’re in charge!”

“In charge?” Gair was growing more confused by the second.

Business didn’t seem to notice. If anything he was working himself up with excitement. “Yes! See, Benny was the leader of this group, but he doesn’t like following rules. That’s why I needed someone else. Someone tough who won’t take nonsense, but who would also obey my rules. Someone to keep the rest of these guys in line.” He turned his manic smile toward Gair. “Someone like you.”

His eyes flitted from his boss to the gray astronaut. He still had no clue as to what the man was going on about, but he was sure he could get a coherent answer if he asked the right questions.

“And what does the new astronaut have to do with any of this, sir?” 

The edge came off of Business’s grin and his head tilted slightly. “You didn’t figure that part out?” he sounded genuinely curious. “Huh. That’s a little disappointing. But no matter!” Then he was grinning again and motioning Gair forward, not reacting when the guard didn’t move. “I’ll spare you the details, but you’ll be set up in this bad boy! It’s top of the line! I thought about giving you the black suit, but it’s still a little occupied at the moment.”

As Gair continued to listen to Business’s rambling, he felt something nudge the back of his legs. His eyes flicked downward to find Moppy standing behind him, an arm outreached toward the light bulb in the guard’s hand. He held it out, trying to keep his movements subtle, and Moppy took the little glass bulb before scooting away quietly.

“And you’re also not dead yet,” Business suddenly continued at a louder volume, “so I figured there must be a good reason!”

Gair glanced around at the astronauts watching him and frowned as he came back to the gray. 

“Good reflexes.” he answered. “Didn’t stop my arm getting broken though.”

Business chuckled and shook his head as if he’d just heard a good joke. “True. But it won’t matter in the long run. As long as you’re in mostly one piece in the end I can work with that! And, I must say, you’ve been pleasantly cooperative! The other guys I hired tried to run off at this point! Definitely not leadership material. But you!”

Gair tried not to flinch as his boss strode up to him and slung an arm around his shoulder, poking his chest with the opposite hand and still grinning madly. “You, Gair, have stuck around and haven’t looked ready to bolt since the door locked! I’m sure a guy like you has ambitions, yeah? And can appreciate someone like me springing us into a wild new future?”

Still no idea what was going on. “Of course, sir.” He faked a smile that seemed to add fuel to the other’s excitement. “Can I know exactly what wild future I’m heading into though? Like the _exact_ details?”

“Oh, yeah, sure, sure.” Business steered him toward the gray astronaut, ignoring the increasing intensity of the whirring around them. Gair stared into the dull yellow visor of the new suit. Something about it didn’t sit right with him. Before he could ask about it though the sound of glass scraping over metal was heard and Business’s arm released him instantly.

“Hey!” his boss shouted with a sudden rage. “Get away from there!”

Time seemed to slow in that moment.

Gair’s head turned to see Moppy standing beside Benny, visor propped up and bulb being slowly screwed into place. Then he glanced at Business at his side and noted the man’s hand diving below his shirt, a dark object being pulled out and aimed toward the little robot.

Benny’s visor came down with a clack just as a terribly loud boom went off beside Gair’s head.

“Moppy!” 

Benny’s cry of anguish broke Gair out of the spell and he jumped back from his boss, wide eyes trained on the gun in his hand. The man scoffed as Benny hit the floor beside the now smoking helper ‘bot and pulled it into his lap, wailing like someone who just had a pet die.

The color drained from Gair’s face as he thought that over.

“You...” he couldn’t force his voice higher than a whisper. “You killed Moppy...”

Business scoffed again. He turned to face Gair and motioned toward him with the handgun, grinning when the guard’s hands went up. “Yes, well, it’s not a big deal.”

_“Let me at the bastard!”_

Before Gair could stop him, his twin shoved forward and snarled. Business looked alarmed for all of a few seconds. Then his grin curled into something nastier.

“Dual born, huh? Even better.”

Before Bradley could move the crack of another gunshot filled the air.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're finally nearing the end.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So three chapters in two days in unreal for me. I've just been dying to push this baby out to the end!
> 
> So here we are at the final chapter!

Bradley’s eyes had gone wide in shock when the gun went off. He stood rooted in place staring at Business until he sunk down to one knee, his good hand clamping down on his side where the bullet had penetrated.

“Don’t worry,” the man sneered at him, “it only hurts for a little while. Maybe. I don’t actually know.”

Warm metal pressed against his forehead and Bradley raised his gaze just enough to slot the muzzle of the gun between his eyes. Gair cried out in the back of their mind, but he couldn’t move. His focus was wavering and he let his eyes slip shut. The click of the hammer being pulled back and the whirring of angered hornets sudden and sharp rang in his ears.

Another gunshot rang out.

And Bradley was still alive.

“What is the meaning of this?! Unhand me this instant!”

His eyes snapped open the instant he felt a rough grip on his upper arms and he fought a wave of nausea as he was dragged to his feet. A pained gasp left him though.

“Hey, stay with me now.” an urgent voice in his ear, digital and full of static.

He could hear multiple voices yelling, but whoever had picked him up had turned him away from the others. A moment later he was glad he couldn’t see as a loud snap sounded out that he’d heard, and felt, only a day before. Screaming ramped up after that and Bradley was shoved back by his twin and blocked off from the noise.

Gair bit his tongue to keep from crying out as he took over. The bullet wound was still shock numb, but he knew he’d be feeling the full effect at some point.

“I’m alright.” he gasped out, hoping to assure whoever had hold of him. A glance up showed pink metal. “Thank you, Lenny. What’s happening?”

“I don’t think you want to know.”

He really didn’t. Not with all the crunching and sickening wet sounds going on behind them. At least the screaming had stopped.

Minutes dragged on before the others joined them and Gair pointedly ignored the flecks of red dotting Jenny’s front. 

“Is he alright?”

“You’re not gonna die on us now, are you?”

“Guys, give him some space!”

The astronauts had crowded for a moment, but backed up at Benny’s command. Gair turned his attention to the blue and winced seeing the armful of sparking metal he carried. He looked pained and his visor had gone a soft sky blue color.

“I’m sorry about Moppy...” Gair offered. Benny’s screen flickered and a simulated sniffle came from him. 

“It’s okay, man.” he answered quietly. The guard frowned, but refrained from saying anything. Benny seemed to notice the little internal war and his screen slowly brightened. “No, I mean it. I can fix him if you can get me some tools later.”

That at least was some good news. “Ah. Good to know.” He smiled faintly. “Just give me a list and I’ll see what I can do.” Then Lenny shifted above him and he let out a hiss, the wound in his side pulling.

“Shit...”

“Before we make any lists we need to make sure you’ll be alright.” Benny’s expression changed to one of determination. Carefully he set Moppy down and moved closer, holding his arms out toward the guard. “Give him here, Len.”

Gair passed hands and slumped against the blue ‘bot. His hand was wet and his legs were having trouble holding him up. “What exactly happens now?” he questioned after they began to move out of the room.

A nervous sort of silence descended upon the group. 

“I have no idea.” Benny finally said. “Let’s just focus on patching you up first.”

\---

Things had gone to hell after that night.

Gair, obviously, had needed medical treatment that the astronauts unfortunately couldn’t provide. Jenny had found Gair’s phone and called an ambulance and they’d left him by the doors once they saw the flashing lights pull up. He’d told them about Business, but made up a story about his boss shooting him then running. Both twins were sure a story about killer robots wouldn’t be believed.

They learned that the museum would be permanently shutting down after that night. They also learned what had happened to Business only a day later as the news played on the television in their hospital room. Apparently he’d been stuffed into that gray suit, twisted and broken and mangled within the internal structure, and they’d only found him because of the suit _leaking_ all over the back room. 

The other suits had been opened as well out of caution and Gair’s heart had dropped when more bodies were found. He’d stopped listening and had grabbed the remote to turn the news off after catching something about a group of missing young astronauts lead by one “Benny Chu”. He didn’t want to hear the details.

 _“And t’think this was all going on while we worked.”_ Bradley sighed. _“It’s safe to say we’ve lost that job. D’y’think they’ll be alright after this?”_

“I don’t know... I’ve never been a spirit possessing an animatronic astronaut before, Brad. I can’t say what happens for sure.” Gair glanced toward the open window of his room and contemplated the question.

_“Just hope whatever happens that they’ll be better off.”_

“Me too.”

\---

“Hello, what’s this now?”

Bradley stooped to pick up a rather large box sitting on his front porch. It had no address and felt suspiciously heavy. His eyes narrowed and his hand went to the knife in his pocket. He’d only been out of the hospital for a few days and he wasn’t about to let some malicious package send him back.

Cautiously he cut the tape holding it closed and barked out a surprised noise when something sprang up at him.

“The hell!” His eyes widened as he stared at the thing in disbelief. “Moppy?”

The little robot chirped happily at him and began scooting along the porch like an excited puppy. Relief, confusion, and concern all bounced around the twins’ head. 

_“Benny got him fixed up!”_

“Who sent him to us?”

_“Oh, how’d they get our address in the first place?”_

While they questioned everything about the issue and began to grow paranoid, Moppy had opened one of his compartments and drew something out. It was waved at Bradley a few times, ignored, and promptly smacked against his leg which made him jump. It did get him to look at the object though. A plain silver chain, scrap metal twisted into a braid, with a few pieces of colored metal bits dangling from it. The bits were twisted into little star shapes and each was a different color: pink, yellow, white, and blue.

Bradley held the chain and stared at it with a bit of melancholy. 

“Something for us to remember them by, I suppose?” he asked the little ‘bot at his feet. Moppy chirped at him brightly and pointed at the chain then to him. “What? Y’want me to put it on?” It did have a clasp like a necklace after all. And Moppy’s sudden hopping seemed like an affirmative answer.

As soon as the necklace was clasped Bradley yelped in shock and jumped away from the face suddenly looming too close to his own.

“Surprise!” the four astronauts shouted in unison.

Bradley couldn’t believe what he was seeing. He rubbed at his eyes to make sure it was real and even pinched himself to make sure he wasn’t dreaming. When the slightly transparent figures still stood before him he let out a shaky little breath.

“Don’t go crying on us now, big guy.” Jenny teased.

Bradley managed a chuckle and took a step toward the group again. “How?” he managed after motioning toward them all.

Benny pointed a finger at the metal around his neck. “We wanted to give you a reminder of what you’d done for us with that, but I guess we’re more attached to our suits than we thought. And sneaking Moppy out was the only way to even get that to you. You don’t have to worry about him either. Ken got into the files and made it look like he’d been destroyed on that night so no one should come looking for stolen tech.”

“So you’re welcome!” Kenny chimed in.

Bradley touched the metal stars around his neck gently and frowned. “But shouldn’t you lot have moved on or something? It doesn’t seem right that you’re still stuck here.”

The group all smiled at that. And, boy, was it strange to see real faces instead of electronic screens.

“We’re not stuck.” Kenny assured.

“This is where we wanna be right now.” Lenny stated.

“We’ve been stuck in those suits for years. Why would we move on before having some fun first?” Jenny questioned.

“If you’ll let us stay, that is.” Benny said. “We may not want to go anywhere, but we also won’t intrude. It’s up to you.”

Bradley glanced between each of the four slowly. “Hmm... I don’t know. I’ve never been a fan of haunted houses.” He crossed his arms and tried to keep up a serious expression. 

Then Gair switched in and began to laugh. “He’s just joking! Don’t take him seriously or you’ll never be able to stand him!”

Bradley pushed back into control quickly. “Y’always ruin my fun, Gair.” Yet he smiled and nodded his head. “As long as you lot stay out of trouble y’can stay.”

“So no slamming cupboards or throwing dishes. Got it.” Jenny said.

“And no possessing things for sure.” Kenny snickered.

“Guys, be serious.” Lenny chimed in. “The man doesn’t want ghostly wailing in the middle of the night.”

“Start with any ghostly wailing at any time and I’ll make you stay outside the house.” Bradley butted in with a good natured smile. “Now come on inside. Make yourselves at home.”

“New roommates!” Benny shouted as he zipped right through the door before it was even opened.

“We’re going t’need a talk about personal space if you can do that!” Bradley shouted before getting the door open.

His answer was a half laughed out, “Don’t worry, I won’t pop in on you in the shower or anything!” 

Then, from Lenny in a teasing voice, “I will not make the same promise.”

“You’re all going to be a handful aren’t you?” Bradley sighed.

A surprisingly solid hand pat his shoulder and he turned his head to see Jenny grinning at him.

“You have no idea.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little anticlimactic, but I hope y'all have enjoyed the ride nonetheless! This is the first fic in a long time that I've actually been able to finish so I'm super proud of it!
> 
> I've already got more fics in progress so I'll be back around soon!


	11. Alternate Ending

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Back again for one final chapter! 
> 
> This one starts at the first few lines of chapter 10 after Bradley was shot and is a bad ending. It's also super short. I just wanted to explore the idea a little bit.

Bradley’s eyes had gone wide in shock when the gun went off. He stood rooted in place staring at Business until he sunk down to one knee, his good hand clamping down on his side where the bullet had penetrated.

“Don’t worry,” the man sneered at him, “it only hurts for a little while. Maybe. I don’t actually know.”

A creeping cold sensation began to spread through him from around the bullet wound and not long after he found himself slumping sideways. Gair shoved him back and walled him in, the last thing he knew being a muffled shout of pain.

“Oh, hey, Gair! You’re back!” Business chuckled. “You know what’s funny? I think I might’ve reacted too soon. I’d never even met the other guy and I shot him! He just looked like he wanted to tear off my head! Hope you understand.”

He couldn’t keep track of time after that moment. It became a blur of being dragged across the floor, talked to with words he couldn’t quite make out, and cold numbness. Wires were wrapped around his limbs and his unfocused eyes watched as Business somehow opened the gray astronaut’s front. He couldn’t make out much inside beyond bright white light blinking rapidly. He was pulled toward that light and groaned as it surrounded him, barely acknowledging the wires that held him in place. He was too numb to even feel them.

“And now,” he heard Business’s voice as if underwater, “we wait.”

‘For what?’ he wanted to ask. But his voice wouldn’t work quite right and all he released was another quiet groan.

The front of the metal suit closed around him slowly and he was left surrounded by that pulsing white light.

Soon, blissful darkness took over.

A week later came questions about the missing security guard. 

His parents knew something was wrong when they hadn’t heard from their son in days. Business seemed just as clueless, reporting that the man had failed to show up for work one evening and hadn’t been seen since. He spoke highly of him and urged citizens with any information to contact the authorities in order to find him.

The case went cold quickly.

Beyond the scare of a disappearance though, the museum was seeing a lot of new activity. Crowds of children bounced and chattered in excitement as Business announced that the fan favorite astronaut, Benny, had recently been repaired and brought back online after months of being broken. It was back to walking among the crowds, answering questions, and entertaining guests. The helmet remained cracked, but people liked that it made the ‘bot stand out from the rest.

The other reason for so many newcomers was to see the brand new astronaut that had been installed. Unlike the others this one could roam the entire museum and instead of the logo branded on the rest of them this one had what looked like a cartoon police badge decorating the left breast of the suit. Business introduced it as daytime security. Able to interact with patrons like the others, but also there to enforce the rules. It had a great way of showing which job it was currently performing too: two different colors in the lighting of its visor along with different looking eyes programmed to change with the colors. 

A light blue colored visor would show a pair of rounded glasses around the eyes and indicated that the ‘bot was in interaction mode. The voice would be higher pitched and soft so as to appear more friendly. A bright red colored visor would display a pair of dark aviator styled sunglasses to indicate that it was in working mode and about to enforce a rule in danger of or currently being broken. The voice would pitch down deep and rough to add an intimidating quality.

Business had nicknamed the two sides of the astronaut “Good Cop” and “Bad Cop”. 

Over time the gray was replaced with a black and white paint job more fitting of an officer’s uniform and the ‘bot quickly became another fan favorite. People found it amusing that GCBC, a shortened nickname given by patrons, seemed to stick closely to Benny when it wandered into the space section. Some even said it looked like the whole group of astronauts were having meetings during certain times of day. If only they knew what happened when the lights went out for the night.

“Alright, you know the drill by now.” Business told him one night as he saw the museum owner off. He was pleased with how attentive and obedient his latest creation was. “Keep them in their places and keep them quiet.”

“Yes, sir.” Good Cop’s chipper voice said.

“Good. Oh, and there’s someone new starting a job here tonight. Don’t worry, he isn’t here to take your place. I needed to hire someone for the human element, you know? Keep people comfortable that I’m not automating everything.”

“Of course, sir.”

“Just stay out of his way. He’s weirdly jumpy around everything. Make sure he doesn’t break anything, would you?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Excellent!” Business grinned widely and left the building with a spring in his step, content that everything was going along smoothly. He didn’t see the flash of red in the visor behind him.

If they played their cards just right with the new guy, the astronaut crew planned to destroy the entire museum from the inside out.


End file.
